Consumers' confidence in their finances fell back from its highest levels in four years in December as Christmas put a squeeze put on people's budgets, a report has found.

In November, people's sentiment towards their financial situation reached its highest levels since records began in 2011, the Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report found.

But November's record high reading of 191 points fell to 188 points in December. Looking to the coming months, there are also signs that while men's confidence towards their financial future is growing, women are becoming less optimistic.

Lloyds said that in October, men and women shared a similar level of sentiment towards their financial future. But since then, men have grown in confidence, while women's confidence has fallen back.

Men are also growing more optimistic about being able to pay off their debts, while women are becoming more negative.

Lloyds said it is usual to see a deterioration in people's attitudes towards their financial situation in December, before they get back on top of their budgets in January.

Despite the recent fall in confidence, consumers' feelings about their personal finances are still much more positive than they were earlier in 2014, it said.

Greg Coughlan, director of personal current accounts at Lloyds Bank, said: "The end of 2014 saw Christmas spending impacting the overall index, with a slight fall in consumer confidence.

"However, as with previous years, we may see confidence bounce back to growth in January."

The research regularly asks 2,000 people about their current and future spending habits.

The findings were released as a separate study from VoucherCodes.co.uk found that one in four (25%) people hope to be better off financially this year, with expectations of pay rises and reduced fuel costs being given as the main reasons for this.

Nine in 10 (89%) of the 2,000 Britons surveyed for VoucherCodes are planning to make a "big ticket" purchase this year, such as a holiday, a new car or a new kitchen or bathroom.